Feds offer up $37.5 million in funding for new bridge in Victoria, B.C.

The City of Victoria will get a replacement for its Johnson Street Bridge; largely due to $37.5 million in funding to be received from the Government of Canada.

The expected cost of the project is approximately $77 million, with the City of Victoria paying the difference.

The federal government’s portion of the funding will come from $21 million from the Building Canada Fund and $16.5 million from Canada’s Gas Tax Fund.

Eve Adams, the MP for Mississauga-Brampton South and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, made the announcement on March 3.

The project is expected to produce approximately 900 local jobs and $500 million in economic development. The replacement bridge will feature: on-road bicycle lanes; improved accessibility for pedestrians, strollers and scooters; safer road approaches; and connections to the Galloping Goose trail and the future Harbour Pathways.

The bridge is expected to be completed and open to traffic by the end of March 2016.